Bone marrow stromal cells transplantation combined with ultrashortwave therapy promotes functional recovery on spinal cord injury in rats

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) transplantation combined with low dose ultrashortwave (USW) radiation on functional recovery from spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 64) were randomly divided into five groups: sham-operated, as well as control, USW, BMSCs, and BMSCs + USW that were subjected to spinal cord contusion. BMSCs were transplanted into rats in the BMSCs and BMSCs+USW groups, while those in the USW and BMSCs + USW were exposed to radiation; Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) tests were performed before the operation and at 1-week intervals after SCI for 7 weeks. 7 weeks later, animals were assessed footprint pattern, motor evoked potential (MEP), histological features, and expression of the ED1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), markers of activated macrophages and astrocytes, respectively, in the lesion area. BBB scores were higher in the BMSCs + USW than in the BMSCs and control groups. The USW and BMSCs + USW groups had improved coordination compared to the BMSCs and control groups (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively, vs. control). BMSCs + USW rats had a lower ratio of lesion/cavity to spinal cord area than the other injured rats, and also had expression of GFAP in transplanted BMSCs. All treatment groups had lower ED1 expression and MEP latency than the controls (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). The results indicate that BMSCs transplantation combined with USW radiation is more effective than either treatment alone in promoting functional recovery after SCI, possibly due to concomitant suppression of inflammation and spinal cord repair.

Diosgenin Glucoside Protects against Spinal Cord Injury by Regulating Autophagy and Alleviating Apoptosis

“…The ratio of the cavity area in the spinal cord cross-sectional area by HE staining was calculated somewhat, to histologically show the function of the spinal cord [28,29]. Severe damage of the dorsal white matter and central grey matter was observed in SCI rats when compared with the sham group.…”

“…According to reports in the literature, the apoptosis of neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia cells in tissues from injured segments and adjacent segments from 4 hr to 3 weeks could be observed after SCI [30,31,32]. The apoptosis of spinal cord neurons caused the impairment and loss of spinal cord sensory and motor functions [29]. Consistent with our findings, it is known that trauma and ischemia of the spinal cord can cause neuronal apoptosis, which could be attenuated by DG treatment in the present study.…”

MiR‐137 inhibited inflammatory response and apoptosis after spinal cord injury via targeting of MK2

“…All the procedures were carried out as described . In brief, Total RNA was extracted by TRIzol (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions.…”

Anti-inflammatory effect of stem cells against spinal cord injury via regulating macrophage polarization

“…[76][77][78][79] There is a large body of evidence demonstrating that the effects of MSCs on macrophages are critical for inflammatory response and tissue repair after SCI. [80][81][82][83][84] Nakajima et al observed that BM-MSCs altered macrophages into anti-inflammatory M2 and beneficially modulated the immune system. 80 When human BM-derived macrophages were cocultured with human BM-MSCs, these macrophages showed high expression of a well-known marker of alternatively activated M2 macrophages (CD206) and expressed low levels of TNF-α and IL-12 and high levels of IL-6 and IL-10.…”